Claremont — A Claremont man remains held on $10,000 cash bail following his Friday arraignment in Fifth Circuit Court on a felony charge of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine at his 27 School St. residence and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.

Bradley Ames, 57, was arrested Thursday at Valley Regional Hospital, where he had driven himself that morning.

In a news release from Claremont Police Chief Alex Scott, a call was received with a report of a man with an unknown medical emergency in the area of School Street.

When emergency services arrived, they learned the man, later identified as Ames, had driven himself to the hospital, where witnesses said he was driving erratically and at a high rate of speed, nearly hitting a pedestrian in the parking lot. Ames entered the hospital and then tried to leave but was stopped by police, who arrested him for DUI.

Around the same time, police were investigating a chemical odor at 27 School St. and had been collecting information about a possible “methamphetamine cook” at that address, according to the news release.

Police executed a search warrant and gathered evidence with the assistance of the state police, the state Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team.

No plea was entered on the felony charge, but Ames pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

Patrick O'Grady covers Claremont and Newport for the Valley News. He can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com